titekaka are almost as magical as uranus. anderson cooper could never have gotten through those words. that is what i call payback on the reblitz-ulist. that does it for this edition of "360." thanks for watching. erin burnett "outfront" starts now. >> who knew what and when? new details emerging tonight about the attack that killed the american ambassador to libya and an interview with the libyan prime minister. and it's a controversial ad being called hateful, but the group behind it says t just speaking the truth. does it add up? let's go "outfront." "outfront" tonight, we have breaking news. we've got new details coming in

in the investigation into the murder of the ambassador, chris stevens, and three other americans. the libyan prime minister tells cnn's arwa damon that the evidence suggests the attack last tuesday on the american consulate in benghazi was preplanned. that is crucial. libyan prime minister also tells cnn that eight people detained were involved in carrying out the attack. that some are far extreme members of libya's largest islamic brigade and that no members having known affiliations specifically to al-qaeda. now, they also say to arwa that 30 to 50 people were attacked the consulate. they were organized, but didn't belong to one specific group. now, the libyan government said this was preplanned, but interesting. that has not been the message out of washington. this was the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, susan rice,

on september 17th. >> the best information and the best assessment we have today is that in fact, this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack. >> not preplanned or premeditated. white house spokesman jay carney reiterated that position yesterday. >> based on the information we had at the time and had to this day, we do not have evidence it was premeditated. >> but today, carney for the first time called it a terrorist attack and changed his wording, i quote him, we have no information at this point to suggest this is a significantly preplanned attack. a u.s. official who did not want to be named tells cnn today, we acknowledge contradicty information about whether there was aprotest prior to the attack. and there are questions about whether the u.s. missed very important warning signs.

arwa damon on the ground. you have hear her on this show, has reported that according to libyan military officials, three days before the attacks took place, the libyan military officials had a meeting with senior employees at the embassy in tripoli and warned them about a rising threat against western interests in benghazi. libyan military officials said they said the libyan government could not control the militias and advised the american, decrease their presence in benghazi. they said they told the senior embassy officials that the situation is frightening, it scares us and at theeeting, united states official ts declined to ask for additional security. now, state department officials tell cnn that a recommendation to close that postas never passed up the chain of command. "outfront" tonight, senator bob corker, a republican, was briefed on the attacks today, including secretary of state hillary clinton and director of intelligence. i spoke with him a couple of moments before the show began and asked him about that briefing.

>> i will just tell you, the briefing today was an absolute not event. almost a one-hour filibuster. no new information. what you just carried on cnn regarding the interview with the prime minister there is information that was not shared during this briefing and i can tell you it was really, people on both sides of the aisle, i think left there feeling like they had not learned one thing additionally about what happened. so i think all of us just want to get to the bottom of this. you know, we're all concerned and again, today, was basically a one hour filibuster and i do hope that sometime soon, we'll find a real details report about what has happened. >> why were they, to use your word, filibustering? did they not know the answer? didn't want to tell the answer? i'm a little confused. it seems like we've gotten a clear answer, that the libyans gave warnings to officials on

the ground about a dangerous security situation and have been saying this was premeditated. >> yeah, so i have no idea. i mean, i guess on one hand, the administration felt like they needed to come forth today because they had been asked to. on the other hand, i can assure you there was not one new piece of information gained from this. it was just continually stated these things were under review and until we are able to get to the bottom of this, we don't have additional information to share. so it was very disappointing and i think again, all americans want to understand, was there actionable intelligence? people now probably realize this was not something in benghazi that just spontaneously happened. >> i'm curious with the reporting we had, there was this meeting and at the meeting,

americans were told that quote the situation is frightening, it scares us and the americans were advised to decrease their presence in benghazi. americans didn't ask for more security and according to the state department, that whole meeting never went up the chain of command. that's pretty frightening there's that lack of coordination or information sharing going on, isn't it? is that something you fear happening there and elsewhere? >> well, certainly, i can't verify what you've just relayed, but if in fact that happened, certainly, that's very concerning. >> let me ask you a question on this issue of premeditation. i know you're frustrated by that briefs you received today, but why is it that the libyan government says this was premeditated and we hear susan rice, jay carney, from their information, it was not. what do you think would explain that or why would the u.s. government explain things so different? >> i saw the susan rice interview and i've listened to

her very strongly talk about the fact it wasn't premeditated. i have a hard time believing that. and i would hope this would not be the case, but it leads you to believe that they really want to make sure no one finds them culpable on this, in other words, not doing the things they need to do to protect our personnel on the ground. >> when you talk about safety and the kulpaablety for when it doesn't exist, i just wanted to play something secretary clinton said ashe was getting ready to brief you today about american safety overseas. here she is. >> we are concerned first and foremost with our own people and facility, but we are concerned about the internal security in these countries. >> now, when she said that, i was thinking about a conversation i had with jon huntsman, former republican candidate for president. he said he thinks that u.s. consulates, there are many around the world who do not have the level of security that americans think they do and

they're not as safe as they should be. what are you going to do about it? >> well, i think that's where this investigation and just them coming forth with everything that happened in realtime would be very helpful to us, but look, i think there are things, i will say there was a portion of our briefing where there was discussion about what we were doing around the world to beef up our security. i do think that what's occurred is you've seen a tremendous upping of security and the ability to respond quickly. >> so, you felt that had been addressed immediately, strongly, by the united states? >> well, i know, i don't know all the details and i don't think any of us do at this point as to what that actually is. we had a very general summary in about six minutes and don't want to lay out what that was, but obviously they were trying to project forth they are addressing many of the concerns that exist regarding what you just said and certainly, all of

us hope that's the case. >> all right. ahead, after returning to work for just eight days, congress is back on vacation. are we destined to plunge over the fiscal cliff. and an ad, is it hateful to christians? the woman behind the ad tomorrow. and record profits with the iphone 5. will the company pay more taxes in the united states or not? the ones who inspire us, the ones who make us laugh, the ones with the strong shoulder to lean on, the ones we're named after,

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our second story, congress skips town again after a five-week recess and just eight days back on the job, like to use this little calendar.

lawmakers are again high tailing it out of washington until after the election and this time, they have left a pile of unfinished behind. most pressing is that little thing called the fiscal cliff that includes the $1.2 trillion spending cuts that are going to take effect in 104 days, the debt creeling, you get the point. congress doesn't seem to be too worried because apparently, there's some back door wheeling and dealing going on and maybe it will save us all. dana bash is "outfront." what are these closed door meetings? >> two kinds of meetings that have been going on. first, we have had closed door meetings with ben bernanke, the treasury secretary and other officials have been coming up to brief key committee members on just what the scenarios would be if in fact the u.s. economy fell off that fiscal cliff, but it really is to do in the word of one source, make sure everybody is operating from the same set

of facts. what the consequences would be, not so much negotiating possible scenarios on how to get out of it. the other kind of meeting that has been going on has been that kind of negotiating or at least gaming out possible scenarios, contingency plans is probably the best way to put it, on how to deal with the tax cuts that are going to expire. how to deal with the $100 billion or so in cuts that are going to come around the corner if in fact either party does well in the election because that is really the main reason they're leaving without dealing with this. everybody says they can't figure it out. >> what seems to be the crucial question. i want to ask what those exact scenarios are, but let me add john avalon into the conversation. congress doesn't have the great track record. 173 laws passed since january of 2011. what you're saying or turns out to be. so, are you skeptical there will be a deal?

>> there are rational reasons to be skeptical. we have seen over and over, from bowles simpson to the superfail committee. after the election, there will be a sense of consequence, a sense of urgency and there does seem to be good faith efforts behind the scenes. this congress is less popular than paris hilton, but none the less -- >> i haven't heard that name in so long. what are the key scenarios you're hearing being negotiated? >> we're hearing in committees like the finance committee, they are building on the work of the super committee and simpson bowles. on what potential scenarios are if for example republicans do well, they know that the democrats know that they're probably going to have to give in on tax cuts and agree to spending cuts for republicans. democrats do well in the elections, they're going to have to give in and listen to what

chuck schumer said about that dynamic. >> if democrats, the president wins and we keep the senate, those mainstream conservatives are going to be strengthened and are going to want to reach out and work with us because the embrace of the tea party that mitt romney has done will have failed and strengthen those in the republican party. >> that is chuck schumer's wishful thinking, but there's also an important point to be made about the timing. about a week after the election, they have between then and the end of the year to deal with this issues. they say if one party does well, if mitt romney wins the white house, if republicans take over the senate, there's probably going to be less impetus to do anything during

that lame duck session because they know they're going to have more power once january comes along and probably the most likely scenario for getting real stuff done if the status quo is in effect. >> they can take constructive action. here's the point underneath the reporting. if the polarizers create these problems, they made the super committee fail, but it's the senators who seem to be working to solve problems and that's a hopeful sign. >> sounds like what you're saying, whoever loses, doesn't do as well in november, is going to wish they did well a long time ago. if you're a republican, you're going to get more tax increases than you wanted. >> absolutely. >> somebody said to me today, this is maybe stating the obvious, elections matter and that is going to be clear in this lame duck session dealing with this very important economic issue.

>> i'm glad we can still smile when talking about this gruesome thing. >> ahead, a republican blames mitt romney for his dip in the pool. and we take you "outfront" to the coast of iran. >> i'm chris lawrence on the flight deck of the enterprise. we're going to see what's being done to counter iran's threats.

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our third story "outfront," america's rising tension with iran. it's one of the biggest issues of this election and this week, the u.s. military has been executing war games near the critical strait of hormuz, to show iran what the united states will do if anyone attacks its nuclear facilities. "outfront" tonight, chris lawrence, who is on board the largest aircraft carrier ever built. the "u.s.s. enterprise." enterprise" has sailed through the strait of hormuz eight times

since the deployment. and the rising tension means even the smallest incident can spiral out of control. >> so, any action can instantly trigger a disproportionate reaction. >> reporter: iran has threatened to lay mines in the strait of hormuz. navy commanders say they take a lot of precaution to make sure that a misunderstanding with iran doesn't boil over. so it avoids getting too close to iranian ships. >> if we're going to get too close to be of concern, we communicate with them before that. >> reporter: when the ship sails near certain ports in the persian gulf, enterprise installs small cameras on its guns, so if there's a confrontation with a foreign ship, they don't want to be accused of firing without cause. >> we want to have video evidence of it, as much we can, so that when we say this is what happens, the video shows that we mean what we say. >> reporter: nearly three dozen nations have converged on the gulf for a mine sweeping exercise.

>> we're not here to escalate anything. >> reporter: but with iran's threats to mine the shipping lanes, the show of strength is obvious. the exercise will involve ships as well. divers will be in the water and coordinating with robotic, under water drones. president obama and governor romney have both talked tough on the issue. raising the stakes for u.s. and iranian ships. >> our experience after going through the strait of hormuz many times, iranian want to let us make sure we know and vis versa. >> reporter: the u.s. military has been promoting the fact this exercise involves more than 30 nations, but we've discovered only about six countries are sending ships. it suggests that in a real confrontation with iran, it would be a american troops who would bear the brunt of the

fight. >> pretty amazing being able to see that largest aircraft carrier in the world. next, a republican senate candidate has lost his lead and says it is mitt romney's fault . does it add up? and it's an ad that new york city tried to block. critics call it hateful towards muslims. that person is "outfront," next. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my n. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. ♪ [ male announcer ] the first look...is only the beginning. ♪

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we start the second half of our show with stories we care about where we focus on our own reporting from the front lines and first, the three mile island nuclear power plant shut down today. both the spokesman for the nuclear regultory commission and the owner said there's no danger to the public and according to the nrc, one of the cooling pumps stopped working. the system shuts down when an anomaly is detected. nearby residents heard noise during the shutdown caused by steam. the leader of an amish splinter group and 15 followers have been convicted for hate crimes in ohio.

they were tied to a series of attacks on fellow amish people. they forcibly cut men's beards and women's hair, to humiliate their religious identity. we spoke to an attorney for one of the defendants and said not all of the evidence was considered and has plans on filing an appeal. and a french foreign ministry said it is determined to secure the release of four hostages in northern mali. the group has been quoted by saying french intervention could lead to the death of the hostages. the french defense minister said france would provide support for intervention. earlier this week, we spoke to a form rer counterterrorism director and he said that these groups are getting stronger, noting that up to 10% of the french population was of northern african decent. it has been 413 days since the u.s. lost its top credit rating.

what are we doing to get it backed? the 30-year fixed rate mortgage hit another low, match that of july. 3.49%. and now, it's romney's fault. so says tommy thompson of where i wii. he is down in the polls by a lot. in just one month, tammy baldwin turned a ne-point deficit into a nine-point lead. wow, that is an 18-point spread and according to thompson, romney could be to blame. >> the presidential thing is bound to have an impact on every election, you know, whether you're a democrat or republican. if you're a standard bearer for the presidency, is that doing well, it's going to reflect on the down ballot. >> so, is thompson right to be concerned? former new hampshire governor john snu is "outfront." is it strictly thompson's fault and he's trying to find someone to blame it on? >> my good friend sounds like barack obama trying to blame it

on somebody else. campaigns go up, campaigns go down. i'm sure tommy will be fine in the long run. i think romney's doing just fine. he's dead even with him in the polls out there. and he's pounding the president for failing to deal with the unemployment problem, 20 million americans still unemployed. unemployment over 8% and now, the president's having to defend his silly redistribution position and i think america's understanding it's time for a change. >> i would love to talk redistribution with you because top and bottom tax rates between the two are close. the president and mitt romney. but i want to ask you about this tommy thompson thing a little bit more. democrats gained eight senate seats in 2008 riding on president obama's coat tails. so close this time around that seems every seat counts. so let me show you the presidential poll numbers for the state of wisconsin. this is the part --

>> i can't see them. >> i'm going to show them to everyone else and read them to you. obama leading by 43%. in wisconsin. mitt romney at 40%. so, when you lock at those numbers, don't you think there could be some down ballot effect? meaning affecting tommy thompson race? >> look, every state is different. i can tell you that in new hampshire, the governor's race is being boosted by a strong romney race, which is now ahead of obama. so every state's got to look and deal with their issues. separately. i'm not going to get into individual senate races around the country. i'm here to talk about what's wrong with america with the president that's failed his people and with a president who is now scrambling to define some kind of a policy that makes some sense with the horrible economic situation that we have. >> i know you keep trying to make this a go on the economy. i understand the frustration. >> you don't think it is? erin, how can you tell me it's not the economy? >> i'm not saying it's not. i'm not disagreeing with you on

at, i'm saying that hasn't been the issue that has gotten all of the discussion, o on this, the 47% remark, let's go there. gop criticism about this remark. when he said there are 47% of americans who are going to be with obama, depending upon government, that's a quote from mitt romney. scott brown in massachusetts, dean heller of nevada, governor of new mexico, linda mcmahon of connecticut. george allen of virginia. all of them have come out and said this isn't my life, i don't agree with mitt romney. that's pretty hard to take, isn't it? >> what we have is a campaign based on class warfare. started by president obama, who has been attacking the rich and wanting to tax the rich so he can redistribution. it's the same president obama who makes class warfare again a part of his campaign when he tells the job creators they can't build it.

>> but these people are running for office and distances themselves from governor romney. they're not talking about what barack obama's saying. >> well, they ought to be talking about what's going on in america and the situation that this country has and with all due respect to those folks, they can do what they want. i can't tell them what to do, but i can tell you that what most americans care about is the fact that this president is running a campaign that fails to address the jobs issue. this president's running a class warfare campaign. this president is reiterating what he started to say in 2008 when he told joe the plumber he wants to redistribute the wealth in america and the president that has grown wealth to over 25% and when you add obama care to it, he's grown government to 42%. so we have government -- >> but yet, governor, here we are, the gallup poll taken of the 47% with mitt romney, more or less likely to vote for mitt romney. here, you're trying to talk

about the economy. this is what people are being asked about. 20% said that comment from romney would make them more likely to vote for him. >> and under, if you look at the rasmusen poll, 64% of america think too many people are getting compensation from the federal government, so mitt romney was right on target when he says too many people have reached a point of dependsy. and what we need is to create jobs so they are no longer have, so we no longer have that many people on dependency. we need jobs, incentives for investment and we have a president who has no idea how to create those jobs. >> always good to have a little spar fest with you. our fifth story with is an ad many say is hateful to muslims. it will be showing up at new york city subway stations next week. in any war between civilized

man and savage, support the civilized man. support israel. defeat jihad. new york's metropolitian transportation authority tried to reject this ad, but a judge ruled it free spech and forced them to put it up. "outfront" tonight, the woman behind the ad. i asked her why she's doing it. >> well, there had been a series of antiisrael ads that have been running for years in the new york city subway system and across the country as well. i submitted by ads when anti-semitic ads were running last yee. first amendment protects all speech. not just ideas we like. who would decide what's good and forbidden? the government? violent -- it was a triumph of

the first amendment because it wasn't just the fact that my ads had to go up, it was that the judge ruled there are regulations and standards were unconstitutional. so monday is the day they're scheduled to go up. i'm running them because i can. >> you can. but does that mean you should? >> well, why should we allow only one narrative out there? i think we need to talk about this. the fact there's been such a visceral reaction to these ads, particularly in the media, to me, speaks to a much larger problem. the problem is this increasing sharia. the laws say you cannot defend islam. >> when you say one narrative, i see your ad and i see the same narrative that an anti-israelite would have. it's a narrative of hate. >> i think any war against innocent civilians is savagery.

the tens of thousands of rockets coming in from gaza is savagery. the murder of the fogle family is savagery. the blowing up of a bus -- >> why call the whole religion savages? >> how am i doing that? there's no islam, muslim in the ad. >> the word jihad means struggle to improve yourself, to make yourself a better person. it doesn't mean going out and bombing people. but that is what the word means. it means struggle. >> in the koran, it's all holy war and they're citing it as holy war. >> they may be and i don't think there's anybody in that religion who would say i'm all right with that. our rell is a religion of peace and tolerance of love. >> but christians are not beheading people and slaughtering people in the name of christ. there is a faction.

a very significant fashion of devout muslims, jihadists, that believe in this. and do not sanction what's going on in these violent protests, but i will not bridge my speech not to offend savages and we do need to talk about this. >> the word savage, dictionary word, uncivilized and barbarous. this has been used in racial terms about african-americans. the word that is fair to say, the feel is negative and derogatory. so why did you choose to call them savages? >> because any war on innocent civilians is savagery and you're accusing me of thought crimes. tl there's a sininterpreter. i cannot cotton to this twisting of the word that it means something else. >> what you've said is you're

doing this because you have free speech. just because i can come out and say all kind of things about something doesn't mean i say it. >> but i don't think my message is controversial. there have been close to 20,000 islamic attacks since 9/11, weech with the -- of a muslim clerk. this doesn't mean all muslims scribe to this, but there is a problem and part of the problem is you can't talk about it. look what's happening. if it's not my ad, it's a danish cartoon. now it's a french cartoon. and if it's not a french cartoon, it's a youtube clip. >> what did you think of the movie? >> why would i see it? >> as someone in the past, had taken on the issue. did not support the mosque near ground zero.

along with steve cline, a consultant along with the innocence of muslims. >> i don't care. it doesn't matter. this is freedom of expression, freedom of speech. it protects all speech. you don't like it, that's fine, you don't have to like it, but to try to bridge my speech is imposing the sharia, you're imposing the laws on a free society. >> the point is if your goal so to try to create tolerance and deal with the hate and horrible acts that have happened, is your ad the way to do it? >> yes, we have to increase awareness on imposing the blasphemy laws in the west. there's no tolerance on my side. i don't want to kill anybody. there are things i see that get more angry, but i'm not going to go out and burn embassies and kill people. >> what have someone was hurt because of your ad? >> i'm not responsible for other people's actions. it doesn't make sense. like a man going into his bedroom and finding his wife with a man.

he kills him, very angry, very offended. i am not responsible for anyone's actns and worse, i think your position is em boldening islamic terrorism and extremism because you're sanctioning it. >> i don't believe that i'm sanctioning it at all. >> you are because i'm the problem. you're blaming victim. >> how are you the victim? >> because you're killing the messenger? >> of what? >> that we need to increase awareness of these attacks that have been inspired by jihad. >> i think the world is acutely aware of those attacks. >> i don't think so. the media refuses to talk about it and when i do -- >> you must not be a cnn watcher. been wall to wall the past week. >> the perception in the media in terms of jihad is couched insy silencesing the voices of freedom. look at this ad. hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of antiisrael ads across america.

nobody said boo. how come you didn't have the people on? not one, but two -- >> actually, i am not familiar with those ads -- >> you're not familiar with those ads, which tells you that there is a systemic institutionalized bias in the media and b -- >> i have to say, i love visiting israel and across the middle east. i would certainly not -- >> i'm not accusing you of anti semitism. nobody talked about the anti-israel ads up on new york city metro and up in new york city subways. one in new york city subway was urging the end of u.s. aid to israel, implying that u.s. aid to israel was an impediment to peace, when in fact, it's an impediment to the annihilation of israel. >> that is an important political conversation on aid to israel and a topic for a separate thing, but i want to ask you something, called both

the antidefamation league, the highest profile organization that tries to fight -- >> no, they don't. >> and the council of islamic relations. they are known for that. they track hate crimes against jews. here's what they said. we believe referring to your ads. we believe the ads are highly offensive and inflammatory. pro-israel does not mean anti-muslim. it is illegitimate and continuing to run it is irresponsible. these are people who make it their cause in life. >> no, they make it their cause to fight fellow jews. they were denouncing joan rivers last week. no one in the jewish committee takes them seriously. apple mania is about to take over with the iphone 5 lunch, but some say apple will not pay enough taxes on it.

all this talk about tax. we're going to talk about apple. and turning waste into a bold idea. meet the woman using unwanted car parts to keep people warm this winter. [ woman ] it's 32 minutes to go time,

and the candidate's speech is in pieces all over the district. the writer's desktop and the coordinator's phone are working on a joke with local color. the secure cloud just received a revised intro from the strategist's tablet. and while i make my way into the venue, the candidate will be rehearsing off of his phone. [ candidate ] and thanks to every young face i see out there. [ woman ] his phone is one of his biggest supporters. [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center... working together has never worked so well.

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america's top tech companies have saved billions of dollars by exploiting u.s. tax loopholes which is according to the senate's permanent subcommittee on investigations. according to the panel's report dozens of companies used loopholes to shift profits offshore to avoid paying taxes. two of the biggest companies cited, hewlett-packard used loans, some going over more than two years, that shifted billions of dollars between two offshore subsidiaries, and microsoft which transferred nearly half of its american revenues toward a puerto rican subsidiary between 2009 and 2011. the 71 technology companies in the s&p 500 which include apple, google, yahoo! and dell reported paying worldwide cash rates of taxes at a rate that on average was a third less than other s&p companies. those tech companies. which brings us to tonight's number, 70. that is the percentage of apple's profits which are held overseas. that's right, even though apple

stands to make a record profit on that new iphone 5 which is on sale in japan, not much will be taxable by uncle sam. in the past decade, apple opened subsidiaries in low tax countries like ireland, the netherlands, luxembourg and the british virgin islands. that combined with some creative but legal accounting saved apple more than $2 billion in american taxes last year alone. tonight a chance encounter between a general motors employee and a young college student has led to an innovative idea which iputting one of motor city's oldest car companies back on the map. ♪ all right. obviously that was a mistake. we're sorry we made it. we'll get it back. we'll take a break.

this is an amazing story. we'll be back and honor our heroes. here's our idea. >> it's like what can i build that would be a solution to a problem. >> that was the motivation behind 23-year-old veronica scott's big idea, a waterproof self-heating coat that could also serve as a sleeping bag for the homeless. >> the coat came out of well, maybe it's something i can make that will offer a little bit of pride that won't look like the standard i'm wearing somebody else's clothes, i'm wearing rags, i'm wearing things that don't fit me. hopefully all for a little bit more and also at the same time, be able to ease the pain of not being able to get into a shelter at night. >> scott initially designed the coats to fulfill a classroom requirement while still a junior at detroit's college for creative studies. her first attempt was a heavy 20 pound coat that took 80 hours to make and according to scott, an epic failure. >> i was like the kid with the noodle picture that came up to them like mom, don't you love what i made and they're looking at me like oh, you did such a good job, but it looks like a bodybag. that was their general sentiment after. i'm like okay, well, back to the drawing board. >> scott kept at it and soon she found a supporter in an unlikely place. general motors. john bradburn manages gm's waste reduction.

he heard about scott's idea and realized that a special sound absorbent insulating material used in door cavities and other parts of gm's chevrolet malibu would be perfect for her coats. >> i said what do you think of this material. i don't even think i introduced myself. but she looked at it, said this is neat, this is good. >> now gm's leftover auto scraps are helping scott keep hundreds of homeless men and women warm this winter. not only that, scott has hired eight homeless women to make the coats, a move many questioned. >> most told me when i started this, they're like you're never going to get any homeless individuals do more than just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. >> she says her critics couldn't have been more wrong. her employees make 150 coats a month and distribute them to support organizations and shelters throughout the country. >> if you look at it just as like what i can do with my life by doing this, you know, for the next five years, i'll be like 28, 29, and this could be like

100 women strong and who knows what i could do from here. >> pretty inspiring story, which brings me to cnn heroes. you've been busy for a dead man. after you jumped ship in bangkok, i thought i'd lost you. surfing is my life now. but who's going to ....

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today we revealed our top ten of 2012 and we need your help to decide who wins hero of the year. here's anderson cooper. now that we have announced the top ten cnn heroes of 2012, i want to show you how to vote for hero of the year. this is the main page of cnn heroes.com. down here you will see all top ten cnn heroes, each will receive $50,000 plus a shot at becoming cnn hero of the year.

that's where you come in. here's how you can vote for your favorite cnn hero. i will randomly click over here. you can read a story about her work, providing free education to girls in rural afghanistan. the same kind of information will come up if you pick any of the top ten cnn heroes. once you are ready to pick the person who inspires you the most, click vote in red over here. a new page then comes up that shows you all top ten cnn heroes. you choose the person you want to vote for. i will say here leo mccarthy as an example. his photo will show up down here under your selection. then just enter your e-mail over here in step two, enter the security code and click on the red box right down here that says vote. you can vote up to ten times every day with your e-mail address and through facebook, and rally your friends by sharing your choice on facebook over here or on twitter. remember, you can vote from your computer, your phone, your tablet, pretty much any mobile device with a browser. go to cnnheroes.com.